Month: May 2014

Throw Yourself Into the World with Reckless Abandon!

blcheek Leave a comment

Commencement speeches.  This time of year they are all over the headlines. Politics, humor, boycotts and protests. Hopefully inspiration.

I venture to say thousands of graduates couldn’t really care less about the speaker or their speech.  I don’t blame them. It’s been my experience that the speaker was chosen by someone more interested in “cultivation” than inspiration.  I admit, I’m guilty as charged, but for good reason.

There is a very good chance that all those bored graduates have had their education subsidized in one way or another (yes you too Biff/Tiff) by the state, foundations, and private donors.  The fact is it is only on rare occasions that tuition covers all the costs, and that asking someone to be a commencement speaker is perhaps the best tool the development office has in their arsenal (they may be cultivating someone other than the speaker them-self, but make no mistake, they are cultivating someone). I digress.

So the point.  If you are lucky, you might get an inspirational speech by someone interesting to you.  Unlikely though.

I’m here to help.  To any graduate who may find this (again unlikely); here is who SHOULD have been your commencement speaker.

I realize this is a few years old by now, but whenever I’m in need of inspiration I watch it, plus it’s a great song!

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Know your story, but don’t be tied to it.

blcheek Tags: , , , Leave a comment

my story

I’m currently enrolled in the UCLA TFT Professional Program for Screenwriters (Online) and our third term is devoted to pounding out a complete screenplay in just 10 weeks. Well less actually, since we spent the first two classes on logline, synopsis, and beat sheet.

Everyone in my class is struggling at the halfway point, although probably by design.

The primary issue is this: Lack of preparation.

Most of us have very little idea of where we are headed. We thought out the basics, had an idea of a beginning, middle, and end, but as the process unfolded and we learned more about our characters and story as we wrote, we all find ourselves in the dreaded second act doldrums.

To be quite honest I have never been an outliner.  Throughout my educational experience (and beyond) I have just sat down and written first drafts. Maybe a few times I would do a very simple outline but it was rare.

Writing a screenplay though is much more complex and difficult than anything I have ever undertaken as far a writing goes. I’m learning that a solid outline and plan is important for such complicated projects.  But not in the way I would have thought.

While in the end I doubt my story would be any different had I done a thorough outline, I do believe it would be easier to write. I also know that no matter what my intent was in that outline I would stray from it, perhaps even drastically. That’s O.K. though.

My point is this, use the outlining process (snowplow, index cards, beat sheets, step outlines, etc.) and the results themselves as a guide to push you though the tough times, but be true to the characters and story and let things go where they naturally should. That little voice in your head will be telling you that you are wasting all that work on the outline if you deviate too far but don’t listen to it. Stray. Explore. Create as you go.

I guess that’s a lot like life. Have a plan, be committed, but don’t let that plan get in the way of creating a really good and fulfilling story, that is your life.

-Brian